


What The World Tastes Like

by Up_sideand_down



Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Animal Death, Fluff and Angst, Food, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-30
Updated: 2015-07-30
Packaged: 2018-04-12 00:50:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4459007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Up_sideand_down/pseuds/Up_sideand_down
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Aerith gets a tour of Gaia and learns to live by her taste buds.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What The World Tastes Like

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AssortedGeekery](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AssortedGeekery/gifts).



She sits next to him at the bar and lets him order. She’s tried everything on the menu at least once and somehow it all tastes the same to her. Cloud stares ahead, silently accepting the fate she’s dragged him into. His future will be full of purple silk. She smirks a little at the idea, but doesn’t mention it.

She eats without quite registering what is was supposed to be. She tastes something hot and full of grease. Somehow the cook got his hands on a shaker of salt and gave her plate a generous sprinkle. If only he had pepper too. It would help cover up the acrid taste of mako that has somehow permeated into her food.

She finishes half her plate, pushing it over to Cloud. He thanks her quietly and resumes spooning whatever it is into his mouth with a far away look.

A day later, she will tell herself that she wished she cherished her last meal in Midgar a little more. It’s a lie. She won’t miss it, not ever.

* * *

There’s a little candy shop in Kalm. She’s still haunted by the story Cloud had told them. Voices chorus about Sephiroth, won’t leave her alone. She wants to shake the idea of him out of her mind, the image of that sword plunged into the back of-

“Miss Aeris?” She shakes herself and looks at her companion. Red XIII yet refuses to leave her side, still guilty for giving her a scare in the labs. In the back of her mind she wants to sit on the ground next to him and comb her fingers through his mane. He has a dense earthy smell she wants to bury her nose in. She will later identify it as baked clay.

“It’s just Aeris,” she says with a smile. She receives a nod.

“Did you want to go in?” Red XIII is referring to the shop. She’s stopped in front of it. She goes in. A bell twinkles above her.

The owner lets her peruse her wares, mostly small hard candies. She pauses over a jar of bright yellow ones. The owner opens it and lets her try one. She pops it into her mouth without thinking.

The flavor explodes across her tongue. The owner laughs at her expression.

“Lemon Drops,” the owner says, “Pretty sour huh?” She nods in agreement. Her tongue curls around it, letting it prick at her lips and make them pucker. She likes sour. She almost leaves with merely a small pouch, but changes her mind at the last second.

The burn is leaving her mouth as she hands over her gil. She tucks the ball of sweet into her cheek as she leaves. Red XIII makes no comment as she tucks the large pouch into a pocket.

* * *

 

She feels a nudge as she strokes the crest of the black chocobo before her. There’s a platter of cookies being offered to her. She looks over at Cloud, still arguing with the stable owner. Tifa sees her watching, rolls her eyes at the men,  a half eaten cookie in her hand.

She takes one with a thank you. She takes the smallest nibble. She covers her mouth. She can’t remember tasting cookies that didn’t leave her mouth tasting like acid. They feel smooth, buttery. There’s a taste of peanut butter beneath the chocolate chips. She sucks on the baked dough, letting full untainted flavors cleanse her hardened palate.

She takes three more before they leave.

* * *

 

She looks at Cloud’s kill: a few rabbits. Their cold, dead eyes stare at her, remind her of what they’re chasing. She feels pity for them.

Cloud cleans them with respect. He mutters something beneath his breath as he skins them. He lays the fur off to the side and gives it a pat before moving on. A pile of entrails is left only a few meters from their camp like an offering.  

“If we get monsters, I will shoot you, Blondie,” Barret says.

“We won’t,” Cloud says. He is certain. Aeris is too. Why hunt when food is freely given?

Despite her pity, and fear, and the memory of dead rabbits staring but not seeing, she is taken with how they smell over the fire. Behind the smoke there is an unmistakable smell of food. Food taken with respect and not wasted.

She takes her serving. It tastes unseasoned and bland, but is delicious anyway. She swallows, tries to find the spirit of the rabbit in the Lifestream and thank him personally. She finds nothing. She will try again later.

* * *

 

She wrinkles her nose at the smell of fish. It’s everywhere. It permeates through all of Junon like mako does in Midgar. She almost doesn’t want to eat any. Almost.

The promise of the best fish on Gaia is a lure she cannot deny. Yuffie whispers that it probably isn’t true.

“The kind made in Wutai can make your mouth water from here,” she claims. Aeris decides to make that decision herself.

What is set in front of her doesn’t smell like fish anymore. The first creamy bite makes her melt a little in her seat. She doesn’t know what is in it, but knows that she loves it. She tries the sour smelling sauce by her side. The two together are indescribable.

This time, she finishes Cloud’s plate for him. Yuffie laughs at her. She likes Yuffie.  

* * *

 

She still feels slightly shaken when Tifa sets down the plate in front of her. She doesn’t like being referred to as a specimen. She still gets a bitter taste in her mouth when she remembers the monster they fought on the ship.

“Try this,” Tifa says. Curls of something breaded, Aeris is guessing more meat. The sauce this time is simply sweet, something with fruits. She beams at Tifa as she snaps it up, trying to remember to actually share the meal.

Part of her keeps getting distracted though. She wants to keep moving. Costa Del Sol is paradise, but there’s that promise Yuffie made about better fish in Wutai. She looks away when the ninja comes to steal a shrimp for herself.

* * *

 

She sips slowly. It reminds her of home. It’s funny how she’s forgotten about how good a cup of tea can be. Cid is swearing up a storm, but she continues to sip sedately at her cup. She likes Cid and his sharp tongue and fresh tea.

Later she will come up to him and offer him a small yellow candy. He’ll eye for a second, then pop it in his mouth with a grunt of thanks. She will have tucked her own in her cheek already.

* * *

 

She watches the others race, trying to conjure up the courage to eat fries. The idea of greasy fare still makes her stomach twist in remembrance of slum food.

Cait Sith is bouncing on his moogle, yelling at Cloud to pick up the pace, when she picks one up. She tries just a nibble, promising to toss them if she hates them.

They taste perfect, just the right amount of salt. They crunch just right in her mouth.  She shrugs to herself, decides that she’ll finish them since she’s hungry.

In the corner of her eye, she sees a familiar blue suited figure, but pays him no mind. Cloud is winning anyway.

* * *

 

Vincent is a mystery to her. She tries not to make it obvious that she’s staring at him, but she does. The stew they make in these mountains is crisp on her tongue. It has a sharp spice to it, that make her taste buds writhe. It’s not a strong enough distraction.

She approaches him later. He’s separated himself from the rest of the group, staring out at nothing. He turns when he feels her presence.

He feels cold, almost lifeless, but he smells like the sharp herbs that was in their stew. She reaches into her pocket. Vincent takes the lemon drop, looks at it for a moment. He tucks it into his cheek much like she does.

* * *

 

She feels a little alone in the woods. She wonders how stupid this idea is, but her determination remains. She rubs her hands around the apple she’s found. She double checks the pouch in her pocket after the first sweet bite. The apple is almost too sweet for her tastes, now that she knows what they are. She nods to herself and tucks it away again.

She munches away until all that’s left is a core. She pauses just outside of the city. Part of her wants to bury her apple core, to hope it’s seeds take root and a tree comes and leaves her memory there. Instead she tosses it behind her, letting it fall and choose to sprout on its own.

Before she steps out of the trees, Aeris takes out two lemon drops and pops them in her mouth. She swishes them around with her tongue before they get tucked away.

* * *

 

Vincent found the pouch. They all wanted to say goodbye, but few could actually touch her. Tifa brushed her hair, Red XII--now named Nanaki--rested a gentle paw upon her thigh, Vincent found her pouch of Lemon Drops. There were eight left, one for each of them.

 


End file.
